Photography Q and A: Chris Ord
- Lencarta LTD
- Blog
- 25 Nov 2020
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Chris Ord
Chris Ord is a photographer based in the North East of the UK. A quick browse through his social meadia or website tells you instantly how gifted he is with a camera! He has kindly taken some time out of his schedule to chat to us about his photography, wider work, as well as the equipment he uses.
Chris is a self taught photographer who has been shooting for many years, primarily as a wedding photographer but also working with some big name brands, such as Newcastle United Football Club! Chris is interested in teaching and instructing; he runs regular training workshops from his own studio and his social media is focussed on helping others achieve fantastic shots!
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Starting at the very beginning, how did you get into photography?
Growing up my Dad always had a camera around, particularly on family outings I would carry his Canon SLR and zoom lens (even though it seemed to weigh a tonne!), so I was used to being around cameras and flashes and tripods regularly. It wasn’t until I was 19 that I started to take a bit more of an interest in photography, my first child was due to be born so I bought myself a bridge camera to capture images of him and his journey into the world.
From there I quickly upgraded to a Canon DSLR (well it was a present from my Dad) and I started taking shooting a little more seriously. The following year my Brother in law was getting married and didn’t have a photographer - he asked if my Dad and I would like to shoot it for the. So we did. And thats where it all started 13 years ago.
Can you remember the first camera you owned or bought?
My first “real” camera was a Canon 400d which I still have on a shelf at home. I’ve got a collection of around 60 vintage cameras in my studio and love adding to that collection on my wall.
What 5 things do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?
- To shoot for yourself and not care too much what other people think of your work
- Running a successful photography business is more about having excellent business skills than it is about having excellent photography skills.
- Knowing when to say no!
- Other photographers shouldn’t be seen as competition but as colleagues.
- Never compete on price
Who were your biggest influences? Who did/ do you look up to?
If I’m honest I’ve never really been hugely influenced by the work of others, for sure there are people who's work I admired, but often it was down to the skill involved in the image - usually lighting that caught my eye and made me want to find out more. Brett Harkness was the first one to catch my eye like this with his lighting ability.
In terms of business and drive, I’ve got to say my Dad is and always will be the person I look up to. I literally wouldn’t have this business without him and it is still one of my favourite things that he still works with me now to shoot weddings and help on the running of my workshops.
What’s currently in your kit bag? What products are you using?
My kit bag stays fairly static in terms of new gear, although I have just upgraded my camera body. Here is what goes with me on a daily shoot;
Canon R5
Canon 5Diii
Sigma Art 85mm
Sigma Art 35mmSigma Art 50mm
Canon 100mm Macro
Do you feel that equipment is important when taking good images?
I’m a big believer that the best camera is the one you have with you, so if that is a phone then so be it. Inevitably, equipment can support in executing better photographs, but it doesn’t always make you a better photographer. Light is something that is really important to me with gear, as 95% of my images are taken with artificial light of some kind. Good modifiers make a huge difference to the quality of light used which is why i love the Lencarta octaboxes that I use.
If you were to recommend a studio set up to someone looking to work in studio photography is there anything in particular you would recommend?
A lot of photographers I see make the mistake of going for a low powered continuous lighting set up when starting in studio work and within a month or so end up upgrading to strobes. My advice would be to start with speedlights and good modifiers, then when those speedlights don’t give you what you need, upgrade up a level.
Something like the Godox V1 is ideal being that it can work off camera and be used indoors and out. I prefer battery powered lighting such as the V1, AD200 and AD300 as it gives me so much more flexibility to move around easily.
How do you see your work progressing in the future? Do you have any skills you want to develop further or another field you want to break into?
It’s funny, I never envisaged this career before I started it, I used to work in Retail Management and run Builders Merchants
sowhichever way this career goes always surprises me a little. I have changed my business quite a lot over the last few
years where I have slowed down my wedding work with view to not shooting weddings at all by 2022, and concentra
ting far more on the commercial and training sides of my business.
Check out more of Chris's work on his website!